Housewares Business-to-business magazine for housewares retailers and their suppliers
Consumers may have cut back, but their pets have hardly noticed the recession – and hard times continue to benefit the home cooking market too.
Latest research from British Lifestyles, Mintel’s flagship report, reveals that while financial difficulties have impacted householders, the same cannot be said of pets.
There are 10.2m dog owners and 9.7m cat owners in the UK, who clearly see their pets as one of the family and, despite the recession, the pet food market grew by 4% to reach £1.8bn last year.
The report says that the in-home food market also continues to grow, worth £65.1bn in 2009. Per capita spending rose last year by 3.4% and has increased by 32% over the past decade. Furthermore, the in-home food sector is anticipated to experience growth of 11% between 2010 and 2015.
Over the past decade, the fastest-growing markets have been baby food, fruit and vegetables, bread and morning goods and store cupboard basics, all of which, says Mintel, have benefited from the growing focus on foods which aid health or promote home cooking.
The recession has also given the carbonated drinks sector, an area previously in decline, a new lease of life. Indeed, says Mintel, carbonated drinks have performed extremely well in the recession, a fact explained by their relative cheapness and their positioning as an affordable indulgence in troubled times.
